To further comment on Pam's March 4 photo of the Kamikaze Ichibei maki: I've had it twice, and both were amazing.

- Spicy salmon prepared fresh with a bit of two different types of hot sauces (the ubiquitous bottle in pho places, and another I couldn't identify)
- tempura flakes
- some vegetable I coulnd't identify to fill the roll
- BIG roll
- topped with 2 big freshly-grilled eels, and sauce on top
- $16, but it's nearly a meal on its own

With their gyoza ($7 for 6 big pieces) and four nigiri (2 of yellowtail and tamago), and green tea, it's a full meal for me. Total with tax and tip was $48. I really shouldn't stop by often, but that quality...

Suzuki - Sea bass, with a nice but not overly-large piece of wasabi keeping it to the rice. it gave a kick yet also enhanced the flavour of the bass, the texture wonderful, and the portion generous - trailing to the bottom of the rice on both sides.

Unagi - traditional eel, well-cooked, probably too much sauce for many. Maybe next time I'll ask for nearly no sauce, it didn't seem to need any. (They make a spicy salmon roll topped with unagi that's big and looks wonderful. Next time!)

Saba - Mackerel, with skin, and oh, a tiny couple of traces of wasabi along with the bits of onion sprinkled on it makes it delicious. Less mouth-melting, the firmer texture made a great contrast with the Tai.

Total cost with tea: $43. Expensive, and I didn't eat my fill, but it's more than enough for a meal, healthy and nutritious, and pretty darn nice quality.

Oh, the cold saké is either the bland Hakutsuru junmai ginjo, or a ginjo that's non-junmai - i.e. has brewer's alcohol added at the end. Not worth my $15.

Here's some delicious sukiyaki from Ichibei. It's served with a raw egg that you crack at the table in a little bowl. It's for coating the sukiyaki pieces. Then you eat the egg-coated morsels with a bowl of white rice. At first I was hesitant to eat raw egg, but it's the authentic way, and you just got to live dangerously sometimes!

Mixing with yogurt completely removes the natto taste and smell. Not good if you like natto, but given that natto is very healthy to consume, it would make it palatable for those that don't (like natto).

Natto are fermented soy beans. They are essentially half decomposed by bacteria! They are coated with a slippery, cheesy, stringy sauce. They don't smell very good at first whiff. But they are an acquired taste, so if you keep trying them, you, too, will eventually grow to love natto. I know a person who loves them so much, he maintains a natto stash in his freezer! This natto is from Ichibei, and it comes with tuna, which is a very nice combination.

Here are Ichibei's Japanese pickled vegetables. The pink ones are cucumber, the purple ones are eggplant and the yellow pickle is of daikon, a member of the radish family that looks like a giant, white carrot. As usual, my little tanuki is presiding over my delicious appetizer.